Adventures in Abruzzo: Making a point the hard way

Editor’s note: After Ottawa couple Lisa Grassi-Blais and Jake Rupert fell in love with the region in Italy where her grandfather came from, they left their careers to stake their futures on a tour company and restored villa in the old country. This 12-part weekly series offers a first-person look at their adventures as they gear up for opening day. Last week: Unexpected guests give Lisa and Jake a confidence boost.

When I saw my wife’s sleeping face pressed against a wall and a wet paintbrush resting on her chest, I realized I might be taking things too far.

It was about 11 p.m. on a warm May night in 2014 and we were on the second floor of the villa we’d purchased in the Abruzzo region of Italy to act as a home base for our tour company.

A couple of months before, the contract costs had come in for the second phase of interior upgrades on our villa, which is 150 kilometres east of Rome on the edge of the town of Torre de’Passeri. The actual prices were way, way more than the original estimates.

A charming villa in the town of Torre deâPasseri captured the hearts of an Ottawa couple as the perfect home base for an Italian tour company, but it needed a lot of work to get it in shape.Jake Rupert /
Ottawa Citizen

For months, we’d scrimped and saved to pay the hefty bill, but I wanted to show our project manager, subcontractors and designer that if we felt something was overpriced, they weren’t getting the work. In an economically depressed region of an economically depressed country, I hoped this would bring down future costs.

The target of my ire during this phase of the renovations was a $10,000 cost for plastering and painting the walls and ceilings on the second floor. The walls weren’t that bad, and although tricky, plastering isn’t brain surgery. I figured we’d pop over to Italy for a couple of weeks, knock the work out in a couple of days, and spend the rest of the time drinking wine and showing our project team who’s boss.

Torre deâPasseri is 150 kilometres east of Rome and 35 km from the Adriatic Sea in the Italian region of Abruzzo.Jake Rupert /
Ottawa Citizen

When I shared my plan with my wife, Lisa Grassi-Blais, she said it sounded like a lot of work. But I convinced her that we needed to show our reno crew we weren’t at their mercy. And I assured her there’d still be time to shop for things we needed for the summer when seven of us were coming back for three weeks. Lisa reluctantly agreed.

The next morning, I phoned our project manager to tell him we’d sign the contract for the showers, kitchen wiring, windows and gas lines, but that the plastering and painting costs were out of line. We’d tackle the work ourselves.

I knew this move had the desired effect when he said our painting subcontractor’s heart was going to be broken.

Lisa Grassi-Blais, and husband Jake Rupert, spent 10 days plastering and painting after the estimate to have the work done for them came in too high.Jake Rupert /
Ottawa Citizen

A month later, we arrived to plaster and paint the walls and ceilings in three bedrooms, four bathrooms, a common room and hallway. All needed various levels of plaster repair, a fix coat, and three coats of paint. I calculated the total area at 3,550 square feet. It was a lot, but I figured maybe four days’ work — tops.

Off we went to the local construction supply store where, using a combination of charades, broken Italian, some French, Spanish and English, and an enormous amount of the shop lady’s patience, we bought several Fiat 500 loads of supplies.

For the next 10 days, we got up with the sun and spent all day and well into the night working. Lisa took the low walls, and I took the upper walls and ceiling, which required me to balance on a ladder perched on two old chairs.

Lisa’s hands ached and she napped on the floor during breaks. My feet turned purple and my knees and back went numb. Delirium set in. We lost track of the days. We were too tired to shower. Lunches and dinners went from multi-course elaborate affairs to chunks of bread and cheese and cured meats going directly from package to mouth. No time for utensils.

Two days before we were scheduled to leave, Lisa fell asleep against the wall. I put her to bed and finished the last coat.

BEFORE: What would become a sitting room needed a lot of work to get it into shape.Jake Rupert /
Ottawa Citizen

The next day, our project manager and general contractor came to discuss future projects, and we brought them upstairs to see our finished work. They made sure to point out minor flaws, but it was a good job, they reluctantly admitted.

The trip home was a blur of semi-consciousness and we were sore for weeks. But the walls and ceilings were done and we’d saved a few thousand bucks. Better yet, our message was delivered: If we didn’t like the price, they weren’t getting the work.

It was all worth it.

Next week: Final quotes for exterior projects are triple original estimates, putting Lisa and Jake officially in cost overrun hell.

If you go

What: Amazing Abruzzo Tours based in Villa d’Abruzzo in the town of Torre de’Passeri, 150 km east of Rome and 35 km from the Adriatic Sea.

Getting there: Direct flights from Toronto and Montreal to Rome are available from several airlines, including Air Canada and Air Transat. Flights from Ottawa and smaller cities require one transfer. Cost: $1,000 to $1,500, depending on time of year. Torre de’Passeri is easily reached from Rome by the A24/A25 freeways, Pronto Bus Service from the Rome Airport and main train station, and by rail with Trenitalia.

Packages and cost: Amazing Abruzzo Tours offers a range of packages from simple bed and breakfast accommodations to its signature product — weeklong, all-inclusive packages with all transportation, accommodation, meals, and day trips. Depending on exchange rates and group size, prices range from $60 a person per night for a double-occupancy bed and breakfast stay to $1,700 a week per person for an all-inclusive package. Details and a sample tour can be found at amazingabruzzotours.com/options/

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